Cerell Rivera
Transformation, Strategy, and Operations in San Francisco Bay Area
Cerell Rivera is a transformation and operations leader with 15+ years of experience driving impact across technology, energy, and the public sector. She specializes in aligning strategy and execution, scaling complex programs, and building high-performing, purpose-driven teams.
At LinkedIn, Cerell served as Chief of Staff for two global organizations. In Growth, Performance & Operations, she led business planning across marketing functions, designing governance models that improved decision-making, transitioned 25% of initiatives to steady-state, and drove $5M+ in annual savings. She unified six leadership teams under a shared OKR system, unlocked new investment, and led a culture strategy that boosted engagement and raised Employee Voice scores by 10%.
Previously, she guided LinkedIn Sales Solutions through COVID-19 as Chief of Staff, aligning GTM strategy, field enablement, and culture to help the business surpass $1B in revenue and reach 1M+ customers ahead of forecast.
At Cisco, Cerell partnered with the SVP of Customer Experience to align post-sales strategy and accelerate decision-making through operational dashboards and stakeholder frameworks. Earlier, she helped scale Cisco’s first SaaS-like product suite to $1B+ in revenue and 25K+ customers in less than three years.
Rooted in her training in Environmental Resource Science and Science & Society, Cerell’s work in ESG reflects a lifelong commitment to sustainable impact. She supported a grid modernization startup focused on energy infrastructure innovation and led statewide energy-equity programs in Hawaiʻi that expanded access to affordable weatherization for Native Hawaiian, middle-, and low-income households, partnering with public agencies and community organizations to drive measurable gains in climate resilience.
A former JET Program participant and Asia Society leader, Cerell brings a global, cross-cultural perspective to every endeavor. She thrives at the intersection of business and purpose—and is passionate about scaling systems, teams, and cultures that deliver meaningful and lasting impact.